The Meaning of Proverbs 10:14 Explained

Proverbs 10:14

KJV: Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.

YLT: The wise lay up knowledge, and the mouth of a fool is near ruin.

Darby: The wise lay up knowledge; but the mouth of the fool is near destruction.

ASV: Wise men lay up knowledge; But the mouth of the foolish is a present destruction.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Wise  [men] lay up  knowledge:  but the mouth  of the foolish  [is] near  destruction. 

What does Proverbs 10:14 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 10:1-16 - The Righteous And The Wicked
Wealth has its advantages, which are more than apparent. The rich man's wealth is his strong city, Proverbs 10:15; but the treasures which have been obtained by wickedness are soon dissipated. They profit nothing, Proverbs 10:2. This book contains the striking thought that ill-earned wealth is never gathered for the benefit of the possessor, but rather for the benefit of the righteous, and must be useless until it gets into hands which will use it benevolently and rightly.
But there is another kind of wealth, which will never take wings to fly away, which no moth can corrupt nor thief steal, and which will avail not only here but here-after. Note the antithesis of Proverbs 10:2. If you would increase your wealth, give it away. See Proverbs 10:4.
The covering work of love, referred to in Proverbs 10:12, is emphasized in 1 Corinthians 13:7, r.v., margin, 1 Peter 4:8, and James 5:20. God covers sin, so that the memory of it is obliterated, Ezekiel 33:16. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 10

1  Proverbs of Solomon: observations of moral virtues, and their contrary vices

What do the individual words in Proverbs 10:14 mean?

Wise [people] store up knowledge but the mouth of the fool destruction [is] near
חֲכָמִ֥ים יִצְפְּנוּ־ דָ֑עַת וּפִֽי־ אֱ֝וִיל מְחִתָּ֥ה קְרֹבָֽה

חֲכָמִ֥ים  Wise  [people] 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: חָכָם  
Sense: wise, wise (man).
יִצְפְּנוּ־  store  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: צָפַן 
Sense: to hide, treasure, treasure or store up.
דָ֑עַת  knowledge 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: דַּעַת 
Sense: knowledge.
וּפִֽי־  but  the  mouth 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: פֶּה  
Sense: mouth.
אֱ֝וִיל  of  the  fool 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֱוִיל  
Sense: be foolish, foolish.
מְחִתָּ֥ה  destruction 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: מְחִתָּה  
Sense: destruction, ruin, terror, a breaking.
קְרֹבָֽה  [is]  near 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: קָרֹוב  
Sense: near.